A Steeton man who was on the train that crashed at Steeton railway station in 1943 has died just two weeks short of the 60th anniversary of the crash.

Jack Cockshott, born and raised in Steeton, died in a Canadian hospital after battling with Alzheimers Disease. He was 79.

Mr Cockshott was just 19 when he boarded the Leeds-Edinburgh express train at Keighley railway station. He was on his way back to base after being on leave from the Royal Air Force. Mr Cockshott's sister, Mary Brook, remembers the day well. "Jack got up early especially to catch the train in Keighley because it didn't stop in Steeton," she said.

But at 4.45am on October 11, 1943 the train collided with a freight train.

The train was shunted onto a siding and wreckage was strewn along 200 yards of track.

Though the Scottish express was carrying 200 passengers, there were no fatalities, but four were briefly detained in Keighley Victoria Hospital.

Mrs Brook said: "After the crash, he just came home, had some breakfast and caught the next available train back to base."

Mr Cockshott was from one of the oldest families in Steeton. He played cricket for the village and went to Keighley Technical College to study textiles. During the war, he was in the RAF where he served in Burma.

In 1953 he and his wife, Kathleen, moved to Canada on business.Mr Cockshott was the eldest of four siblings. His brother, Peter, lives in Steeton and his surviving sister, Mary, lives in Silsden.

Mr Cockshott is survived by his wife and two children.